Dave King, the man credited with setting Rangers on the path to their 55th title, has voiced grave concerns over the club’s current direction, fearing that the current leadership is paving the way for Celtic to march on to 57 titles and beyond.
King played a pivotal role in wresting control of Rangers from Mike Ashley in 2015, with his mission clear: halt Celtic’s charge towards 10 consecutive league titles.
It took six years, but under Steven Gerrard’s leadership, Rangers finally delivered the long-awaited Scottish Premiership crown, with an invincible season in 2021.
However, King wasn’t there to witness the celebrations in person, having stepped down a year earlier to focus on his South African business interests amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
His sudden departure from the Ibrox boardroom left some of his former allies in shock. Many remain upset, feeling they were left to deal with a financial hole in the club’s accounts, a void that some say was created by King’s abrupt exit on 27 March 2020.
Nonetheless, King refuses to apologise for his decision. Instead, he believes those who have led the club since are to blame for squandering what he and Gerrard saw as a golden opportunity to reassert Rangers’ dominance in Scottish football.
Celtic, who secured their 54th title last season, now find themselves closing in on Rangers’ record of 55 titles, and King, a Castlemilk-born businessman, is unequivocal in his criticism of the current Ibrox hierarchy.
In a scathing attack, King said, “The faceless names on the present board have presided over the hollowing out of our club. The significant cash received from supporters and from the sale of Calvin Bassey, Joe Aribo, and Nathan Patterson have been wasted on the poor recruitment of managers and players, poor cost control, and oversight of infrastructure projects which severely compromised Champions League participation this year.”
King didn’t stop there, adding: “Yet those same faceless people want the chance to do it all again. When John Bennett took over, he tried to turn things around but had no human or financial resources to support him.
“It’s amazing that the same people who got us into this trouble want to continue control by placing, as a professional chairman, their own puppet—who will have no knowledge of the club or financial interest in its future. We are sleepwalking Celtic towards 55, 56, and 57 instead of trying to stop them. This board will go down as an infamy in the club’s history.”
The tension between King and the current board escalated following Gerrard’s departure to Aston Villa in November 2021, just months after securing the title. King insists that Gerrard didn’t want to leave but was forced out due to broken promises.
“Steven was absolutely kicked out,” King claimed. “I have no doubts about that. Steven did not want to leave at that point in time. He would have left, but not then.”
King believes Gerrard’s exit marked the beginning of Rangers’ decline. “It’s absolutely true that we went backwards from that point. It was the ethos, the standards, everything about the club that Steven instilled. Then we started to go down from there.”
King has been particularly vocal in his criticism of Douglas Park, the club’s former chairman, but his latest remarks also took aim at other directors for failing to provide leadership during a tumultuous summer.
With Rangers temporarily playing at Hampden, suffering an early exit from the Champions League, and a devastating Old Firm loss, King believes the club is at a crossroads. Philippe Clement’s side currently sits five points behind Celtic, just a month into the new campaign.
King continued, “I have repeatedly said that we as shareholders are only custodians of the club for its true ‘owner’—the supporters. I do not believe that the supporters can have any confidence in the present board to turn things around.
“The complete lack of leadership of this faceless crew is most clearly demonstrated by the simple fact that not one of them was willing to show their face by stepping in as interim chair when John stepped down due to ill health. Shame on them!”
In a damning indictment of the board, King accused them of failing to step up when Rangers needed them most.
“Lurking in the shadows in a time of need is not the Rangers way, and that is why I have again offered to assist. If there is a better option, I would support that. But I cannot support a leaderless, rudderless board that is in a crisis of its own making.”
King’s words will resonate with many Rangers supporters who have grown frustrated with the club’s recent struggles both domestically and in Europe.
The missed opportunities, the mismanagement of resources, and the failure to build on the success of 2021 have left many feeling that the club is in danger of falling further behind their rivals.
As King sees it, the current board’s inability to act decisively is putting Rangers’ future at risk. Whether his call for change will lead to a shake-up in the Ibrox hierarchy remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Dave King is not willing to stand by and watch Rangers fall further into disarray.